The US President Donald Trump has drawn criticism from Democratic leaders after saying he has been taking the malaria drug he has touted as a treatment for the coronavirus despite its well-documented and severe medical risks.
Trump said that he’s been taking hydroxychloroquine and a zinc supplement daily for a week and a half. Trump said his doctor didn’t recommend it to him, but that he requested it from the White House physician. The president’s own government says hydroxychloroquine should only be administered for COVID-19 in a hospital or in a research setting because of potentially fatal side effects, report Zeke Miller, Marilynn Marchione and Darlene Superville.
Firing off a late-night tweet of a letter he sent the World Health Organization that could have far reaching and debilitating effects across the globe, Trump again threatened to cut U.S. funding. He said the move would be permanent unless WHO commits to “substantive improvements” over the next 30 days. The U.S. provides $450 million a year to the organization. Trump has accused WHO of giving “bad advice, terrible advice” and favoring China.
Mental Health Access: The U.S. mental health care system is struggling to continue treating patients and experts fear the virus will make the situation worse. Even before the pandemic, access to mental health services could be difficult. The restrictions designed to curb infections could put the patients who are most in need at risk of falling through the cracks and inflict on countless others newfound grief, anxiety and depression, John Minchillo and Candice Choi report.
More from the web compiling by Vietnam Insider:
Taiwan ‘disappointed and angry’ about being excluded from WHO meeting, says it is developing its own coronavirus vaccine. Taiwan on Tuesday said it was “disappointed and angry” with the World Health Organization (WHO) for not inviting Taipei to join this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) which kicked off Monday. Taiwan has been lobbying hard to join this year’s meeting as an observer after its success with containing the coronavirus outbreak. But it faced strong opposition from China, which claims Taiwan as its province with no right to its own diplomatic representation.
“We feel disappointed and angry about WHO’s decision of not inviting Taiwan to join this year’s WHA. We feel we have so much to share about our successful experiences in this Covid-19 outbreak response” said Yi-Chun Lo, deputy director general at Taiwan Centers for Disease Control.
US Aircraft Carrier: The USS Theodore Roosevelt will return to sea later this week, nearly two months after the ship was sidelined in Guam with a rapidly growing outbreak. Navy Capt. Carlos Sardiello tells the AP the ship will set sail with a scaled-back crew of about 3,000, leaving about 1,800 sailors on shore who are still in quarantine. – AP
An $800 fine if you don’t wear a mask in the UAE: The United Arab Emirates revised penalties for those who violate rules and will implement expanded Covid-19 measures from Wednesday, officials announced on Monday, less than a month after partially relaxing restrictions. Those who host parties will be fined 10,000 dirhams ($2,722.59), while each attendee will have to pay 5,000 dirhams. A national curfew that was initially shortened by two hours will also be extended back to its original duration, lasting from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily.
Authorities said the decision was made because of an increase in infections stemming from some people in the community behaving irresponsibly, according to state news agency WAM. – CNBC
Why the French-German proposal for a $545-billion relief fund is a big deal for Europe.
A “strong political signal,” a “big step forward,” and a “historic” moment — these are just some reactions to the latest plan from France and Germany to set up a coronavirus relief fund in Europe.
The idea is to task the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union (EU), to raise 500 billion euros ($545 billion) in public markets. This money would then be used as grants for sectors and regions where the impact of the coronavirus has been most stark.
The allocation of these funds would be done via the European budget — a common basket that receives contributions from all the 27 member countries and which finances projects across the region. – CNBC